Baker's Clausell stepping up for Mississippi State

(Press-Register/Mike Kittrell)Former Baker High School lineman Blaine Clausell made his first collegiate start for Mississippi State a couple of weeks ago against MSU.

Mississippi State's Blaine Clausell got his "welcome to the SEC" moment two weeks ago against LSU.

It was his first collegiate start after starting left tackle James Carmon had gone down with a knee injury the previous week against Auburn, and he found himself lined up across from LSU defensive end Sam Montgomery.

It didn't take long for the Mobile native to understand what the SEC is all about.

"He was pretty quick," Clausell said of Montgomery. "I was like, 'Man, these guys are fast. I've got to pick my game up.'"

Clausell, a redshirt freshman from Baker High, said the speed of the game has been his biggest adjustment since stepping in at left tackle.MSU coach Dan Mullen said the fact that Clausell graduated from high school early last year and took part in the Bulldogs' 2010 spring drills gave him a head start on competing for a starting position this year.

While Clausell was edged in preseason camp by Carmon for the job, Mullen said MSU coaches knew the 6-foot-7, 295-pound Clausell would still play a role on the Bulldogs' offensive line.

"We felt pretty comfortable that it was a close competition, and either way he'd have to be our third tackle in the game, first guy off the bench," Mullen said. "We were pretty confident in him, and it's great to see him improve because you don't get to see how he's going to perform in a live situation until you actually get in a game. It's a lot different when you've got crowd noise and you've got full stadiums and the pressure of the game. He's really performed well in the games he's played so far."

Carmon, a former Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College standout, is expected to be back in the lineup this week but reportedly has been working some of the time at guard. The Bulldogs lost starting guard Tobias Smith to a season-ending injury against LSU and have been trying to find the right combination for Saturday's game at Georgia.

"Like coach always tells us, nothing's positive until Saturday. Everybody is practicing hard right now, trying to come together as a unit," said Clausell, who added that MSU's offensive linemen routinely work at more than one position in practice.

Saturday's 11 a.m. game in Athens finds Mississippi State at 2-2 overall, 0-2 in the SEC, and in need of a spark.

"I know they're big up front," Clausell said of Georgia. "As coach always says, we're in the same place we were last year but we're a better team. So we still feel like we're still going to do some big things here."